The moment Violet heard that McNeil and Victoria were leaving for a week, her face drained of all color.


    Why hadn''t McNeil told her anything about this trip? Since when did he start going ces and purposefully leaving her out?


    She had no energy left to keep up her conversation with Gwh. After a few half-hearted replies, she cut the call short.


    "Violet''s really busy with work at thepany, sweetheart. She can''te for now. When your daddy gets back, we''ll all go out and have fun together, okay?"


    Gwh sounded disappointed, but since her great-grandfather''s house was always full of other kids to y with, she didn''t dwell on it. After hanging up, she shrugged it off and dove straight into her homework.


    Violet gripped her phone, lips pale.


    V&S Group was already in her pocket, but she couldn''t bring herself to care about thepany''s operations. Lately, all her attention was glued to McNeil''s every


    move.


    A creeping sense of being yed washed over her. Victoria had agreed to sell thepany to McNeil almost too readily, fully aware that he nned to hand it over to Violet. Since when was Victoria so generous? That scheming witch. She''d yed her hand perfectly-luring McNeil away at just the right moment.


    Fuming, Violet paced her office, gnashing her teeth. With no idea where the two had gone, she dialed McNeil''s secretary.


    Knowing full well that Violet was McNeil''s girlfriend, the secretary was tactful and quick to answer.


    "Mr. Langford left for Evermore City with Ms. Turner, VP of Quantum Core Technologies, and Ms. Ailie from their investment department. They''re meeting with the military to discuss a drone contract."


    The news hit Violet like a bolt out of the blue. McNeil had brought Victoria along, and now Ailie too?


    She immediately called the airline to check the flight manifests. With Ailie''s ID number in hand, she soon discovered that McNeil, Victoria, and Ailie weren''t even listed on the same flight.


    So Ailie was just a smokescreen. She hadn''t flown to Evermore City at all—she''d gone to Marisbright.


    Violet''s heart skipped a beat.


    McNeil and Victoria had gone off together, alone. There was no way nothing was happening between them—especially with Victoria, who never missed a chance to throw herself at McNeil.


    She knew full well McNeil had no interest in her, but that never stopped Victoria from clinging on. The worst part? It looked like she was finally getting what she wanted.


    Violet tried calling again, but both their phones went straight to voicemail. She tried Victoria as well, with the same result.


    Both phones off-clearly, they were on a flight.


    Meanwhile, McNeil and Victoria had justnded. Airport staff lined up in two rows, standing at attention.


    The entire terminal had been cleared.


    "This way, Mr. Langford, Ms. Turner."


    Dozens of ck sedans waited outside the terminal.


    At the front, a uniformed driver opened the back door.


    Stein stepped out of the car.


    McNeil spotted him immediately. Before Victoria could hurry ahead, he grabbed her hand.


    "Watch your step in those heels-the floor''s slippery."


    Victoria could see right through him, but McNeil ignored her protests and, just as


    he had on the ne, kept a firm grip on her hand.


    Stein''s gaze lingered on Victoria, her eyes sparkling with barely contained excitement.


    "Mr. Langford, a pleasure.”


    McNeil eyed the armed guards and the row of luxury cars, his lips tightening.


    "Quite the weemittee, Mr. Campbell."


    This wasn''t a reception-it was a thinly veiled show of force.


    "You''re too kind, Mr. Langford. The convoy''s just a standard protocol for someone of my rank-not much of a spectacle, really."


    McNeil''s eyes dropped to the insignia on Stein''s uniform. Maynard had been right -no one could challenge Stein''s authority here.


    "Brother..."


    Victoria''s look toward Stein made McNeil''s stomach knot.


    He purposefully pulled Victoria closer, letting go of her hand only to slip his arm around her waist.


    "My wife-she''s now Vice President of Quantum Core Technologies and head of the drone project. She''s running point on this partnership, so I brought her along. I''m sure that''s fine with you, Mr. Campbell?"


    To an outsider, their conversation sounded perfectly civil, just business small talk. But both men knew exactly how much tension simmered beneath the surface. "Of course. Vicky and I go way back."


    That offhand "go way back" nearly made McNeil lose his cool.


    He gave a coldugh. "You''re pretty direct, Mr. Campbell. ''Go way back''-not exactly how I''d describe another man''s wife, is it?"


    Stein replied evenly, "Another man''s wife? As far as I know, Vicky hasn''t been publicly acknowledged by anyone. Maybe you should tell me, Mr. Langford— whose wife is she, exactly?"


    Holding out his hand, Stein called, "Vicky,e here."


    Victoria yanked her hand free from McNeil''s grip.


    "Victoria..."


    His eyes shed a warning, but Victoria acted as if she hadn''t heard him, walking straight over to Stein without a backward nce.


    Stein opened the car door for her himself. After she slid inside, he looked up at McNeil.


    "The car behind is for you, Mr. Langford. Since you''vee all this way, let''s grab lunch first-then we can get down to business."